Sober Living Homes | a Soft Place to Land or??

Sober Living Homes are also known as Transition Homes, Recovery Residences, SLEs, Halfway Houses…

Taking advantage of sober living homes (also known as SLEs or Recovery Residences or Transition Homes or Halfway Houses) as a transitional step after rehab can be a huge help to a person in early recovery. The concept behind them is to provide an alcohol and drug-free housing environment in which a person can live while they continue to work on their sobriety. But, as you can imagine, what one can find in the way of sober living homes varies greatly. Some have house managers, others are governed by the residents. Some provide random drug testing, others do not. Some require mandatory attendance at 12-step meetings, others don’t, and on it goes. As you can further imagine, living in an SLE that is not a good match can also contribute to the unraveling of a person’s sobriety, as well.

So why is there such a range of options and services? SLEs (Recovery Residences) are not licensed so there is no “standard” from which to measure how one compares to another.

Addiction is a chronic disease, not an acute health problem that is cured by a single dose of treatment. Recovery residences provide a vital service for initiating and sustaining long-term recovery and many thousands exist in the United States encompassing all levels of residential support. However, a unified national voice for recovery residences did not exist nor was there a uniform standard for recovery residences. The National Association of Recovery Residences (NARR) fills these voids. Industry leaders from across the United States came together in 2010 and created a Standard that is the cornerstone of the national association. NARR is comprised of regional recovery residence associations representing all areas of the United States. Affiliation with a national association enhances professional legitimacy and strengthens advocacy. Most importantly, the NARR Standard assures those we serve that they have a safe community residence that promotes recovery. [“An Introduction and Invitation to the National Association of Recovery Residences.”]

To further help you understand NAAR and the role of SLEs (Recovery Residences), I’d like to quote the first three FAQs from NARR’s A Primer on Recovery Residences (September 20, 2012):

1. What is a recovery residence?

“Recovery residence” (RR) is a broad term describing a sober, safe, and healthy living environment that promotes recovery from alcohol and other drug use and associated problems. Many thousands exist in the United States that vary in size, organization, and target population. (The exact number of recovery residences is unknown since many RRs are not regulated by government or independent organizations.) At a minimum, RRs offer peer-to-peer recovery support with some providing professionally delivered clinical services all aimed at promoting abstinence-based, long-term recovery. Recovery residences are sober living environments, meaning that residents are expected to abstain from alcohol and illegal drug use. Each credentialed recovery residence publishes policies on relapse sanctions and readmission criteria and other rules governing group living. Recovery residences may require abstinence from particular types of medications according to individual policy.

2. What is the primary purpose of a recovery residence?

The purpose of a recovery residence is to provide a safe and healthy living environment to initiate and sustain recovery—defined as abstinence from alcohol and other non-prescribed drug use and improvement in one’s physical, mental, spiritual, and social wellbeing. Individuals build resources while living in a recovery residence that will continue to support their recovery as they transition to living independently and productively in the community.

3. What services do recovery residences provide?

Recovery residences are divided into Levels of Support based on the type as well as the intensity and duration of support that they offer. Services provided span from peer-to-peer recovery support (all recovery residences) to medical and counseling services (recovery residences offering higher levels of support). The NARR Standards define minimum services for each Level of Support, but additional services may be provided at each level. Section 5 of the NARR Standards included in the Appendix details the minimum required service elements for each Level of Support.

For the remainder of this FAQ, which provides a wealth of information, please click here.

As with all stages of addiction treatment, there are options. So if you are looking for a Sober Living Home, check out these NARR resources as a place from which to start your search for the next stage of your addiction treatment.

Author of nine books, including "If You Loved Me, You'd Stop!" and "Quick Guide to Addiction Recovery: What Helps, What Doesn't," and hundreds of articles, Lisa Frederiksen is a national keynote speaker, consultant and founder of BreakingTheCycles.com. She has spent more than a decade researching, writing, speaking and consulting on substance abuse prevention, mental illness, addiction as a brain disease, dual diagnosis, secondhand drinking | drugging, help for the family and related subjects – all centered around 21st century brain, mental health and addiction-related research. She can be reached via email at lisaf@BreakingTheCycles.com or by phone, 650-362-3026.

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